Ayodhya Court Grants One-Day Police Remand to Three Accused in Ram Temple Donation Theft Case

PTI, July 7, 2026, Ayodhya: A local court in Ayodhya on Tuesday granted a one-day police remand for three of the eight accused arrested in connection with the alleged theft of donations from the Ram Temple, police sources said.

The court authorised the remand of Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey.

Earlier, on June 29, a local court in Ayodhya had sent all eight accused to 14 days of judicial custody.

According to the prosecution, custodial interrogation of the three accused was necessary to confront them with fresh evidence that emerged during the questioning of the other five accused, who remained in jail and were interrogated on July 5.

Police informed the court that the questioning had yielded new leads, prompting investigators to seek custody of the three accused for further investigation.

After hearing submissions from both the prosecution and the defence, the court reserved its order before allowing the police's remand application.

The eight accused in the case are Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Rama Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Rama Shankar alias Tinnu.

Police have stated that recoveries exceeding ₹79 lakh have been made from the accused, with the exception of Subhash Srivastava, who is still alleged to be part of the conspiracy.

Investigators are examining whether the alleged theft of donations was an isolated act involving temple staff or part of a wider conspiracy involving additional individuals.